7 Multitasking Beauty Products

Want to save time, space, money and the planet? These 7 highly versatile beauty products will help you multitask. 

Here’s a no-brainer: If you could tweak your beauty regimen to clear the clutter out of your bathroom cabinets, spend less time getting ready in the morning and trim some dollars from your budget—all the while helping the environment—would you be willing to give it a go?

Well, all that is possible by following a concept we’ve become very familiar with: multitasking. Choosing products that perform double—or triple—duty is a way to make your beauty regimen more eco-conscious, says Jenny Rushmore, global sustainability leader for Procter & Gamble’s beauty and grooming division.

Here are seven hardworking beauty products you can easily find on your pharmacy shelves.

1. Shampoo-conditioners

These two-in-one formulas will help speed up your showers, saving an average of 19 litres of water for every minute you cut from your shower time and cut down on packaging. Best of all: Now you can find these double-duty wonders in formulas customised to add volume to fine hair, smooth frizz-prone locks or manage curls.

2. Razors With Built-in Shaving Gel

All you’ll need to add is water to get your legs silky smooth. As convenient as that is at home, it’s especially helpful when it comes to getting a close shave when you’re travelling. No need to pack the shaving cream: Simply toss a razor with a shaving gel bar into your toiletry case.

3 . Self-tanning Moisturising Lotions

Add a glow to your skin as you soften and hydrate it—without the orange streaks that conventional self-tanners can sometimes leave behind. To maximise multitasking, choose a facial or body formula with SPF 15.

4. Makeup Foundation With Benefits

Slash your beauty budget and your get-beautiful prep time with a foundation that also treats your skin with anti-acne or anti-aging ingredients, such as youth-restoring antioxidants, peptides, retinols and breakout-busters like salicylic acid.

5. Moisturising Body Washes

Try these lathering marvels and you can step right out of the shower and into your clothes without having to pause to lather on a hydrating lotion. (Okay, a few seconds spent patting yourself dry with a towel is advisable.) Some advanced products also contain anti-aging ingredients that make fine lines less visible by improving skin’s elasticity, tone and texture.

6. Facial and Body Moisturisers With Sunscreen

With broad-spectrum SPF 15 or 30, these lotions provide the daily sun-shielding protection that dermatologists recommend. You can find formulas that are fast-absorbing and have a lightweight texture, so you’ll never be tempted to skip the sunscreen again. In fact, some facial UV moisturisers are so silky that they provide the perfect canvas for your foundation, allowing you to skip the primer. Another step saved!

7. Baby Wipes

If these aren’t in your beauty arsenal, they should be. Unscented, hypoallergenic wipes are a gentle, portable and low-priced make-up remover that will treat your sensitive skin like a baby's.